


New Words

by BritishShinshi



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, Parrots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21588277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BritishShinshi/pseuds/BritishShinshi
Summary: Prompt #3 - Parrots
Relationships: America/England (Hetalia)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	New Words

Alfred brushed a hand through his wheat-blonde hair for the hundredth time. A pout formed on his lips as he glares at the one strand of hair that  _ refused _ to stay down albeit the many layers of gel he'd apply. He takes into account his appearance afterwards - his face was washed and shaved and his teeth pearly white. Next was his clothes: he was clad in a pair of black joggers and a fit white t-shirt that hugged his upper body nicely.

The doorbell echoed in the hallway, sending Alfred's heart to race whilst he brushes his mop of blonde hair one last time. He takes five more seconds to look at the mirror, dusted off some lint and dust from his pants, and then deemed himself presentable before sauntering to the front door. His heart pounded with every step he took, and the closer he approached the door, the more his heart yearned to break free from his chest.

Grabbing the doorknob, he swung it open to reveal a shorter male with golden hair and bright, emerald eyes standing outside. Alfred greeted him with a warm smile, thankful that the latter could not hear his thrashing heartbeats. 

"Hey, Arthur!" Alfred beamed. His heart fluttered even more once he received a smile from the man in front of him. "Sorry if I kept you waiting. You heading out already?"

"No need for apologies," Arthur chuckled, bringing a hand up. "I just needed to drop off Charlie. I needed to finish packing, but this little bugger wouldn't leave me alone." 

Baby blue eyes shifted to the attachment that was latched onto Arthur's shoulder. Said attachment was an ash grey parrot with a bright red tail and shiny orange eyes. Seeing the African Grey Parrot caused Alfred to smile widen.

"Hello to you too, Charlie!" Alfred greeted before turning back to Arthur. The American gave a teasing grin, "Guess he doesn't want you to go, huh?" 

"That appears to be the case," Arthur replied with a shrug. "He's been pestering me ever since he learned that I'll be leaving for England this weekend. He interrupts me every single time I attempt to pack!"

Alfred bit back a snicker. He could imagine Charlie pecking at Arthur's folded clothes and strewing them across the room as an attempt to get him to cancel his trip. He could see how irritated Arthur would get; his face all scarlet while smoke fumed out from his ears. Ah, so funny. So  _ cute. _ "You should have called me! I could have helped ya'," he suggested.

Arthur shook his head. "Thank you, Alfred, but I'm already causing you trouble by making you look after my stubborn pet. I don't want to cause any more disturbance."

"What? There's no trouble at all!" Alfred reassured with a shy smile, absentmindedly bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head. Curse this habit. This was so uncool! "I mean, we're friends… if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask me. You did help me a lot with my literature assignments, I need to pay you back somehow." He could feel a faint blush dust his cheeks, and he prayed to heavens Arthur did not notice.

"That is very kind of you, Alfred," Arthur politely replied with a smile. The shorter male opened his mouth to continue, but his phone began to ring. "Ah, bollocks, that was my alarm. Taxi is coming in a few minutes, I need to finish packing." 

"Oh, yes, yes, of course." Flustered, Alfred opened his arms and accepted the black bag that Arthur passed to him.

"Everything that Charlie needs is in that black bag. If you need anything, or have any questions, please call me." Arthur turned to Charlie. "Be good with Alfred, don't cause any trouble for him, do you hear me?" 

Despite the pout, Charlie crooned and nuzzled his feathered head against Arthur's neck. This immediately wiped the pout away from Arthur's lips. "Aww, don't worry, poppet. I'll be back in no time," he assures, returning his parrot's affections.

The sight in front of him melted Alfred's heart. One of the things he admired about Arthur was his deep love for animals. He had a soft spot for birds, hence why he has a pet parrot to begin with. He admired their relationship with each other. It was obvious that the owner and pet cared for one another, and it touched Alfred's heart to see them interact so lovingly.

Although he does get a little bit envious, or rather jealous of the parrot at most times…

Arthur kissed Charlie's head. "Now, off you go before I miss my flight. Alfred will take care of you while I'm gone." After delivering a small squawk, the parrot launched himself off Arthur's shoulder and flew over to Alfred.

The American, having known Charlie for long, laughed as he brought an arm up to catch the bird. Charlie landed perfectly on Alfred's arm. 

_ Hello, Alfred! The hero! _

"That's right, little buddy," Alfred grinned. "Who knows, you might learn a few new words after spending the weekend with me."

Arthur looked horrified. "Please do not teach him your bastardized language, Alfred." 

"Hey!"

Arthur gave Alfred a few more instructions before waving goodbye. "Thank you once again for agreeing to look after Charlie for me. Like I said, call me if you need anything." He checked his phone for the time. "I must go. I'll see you in four days, Charlie!"

_ Goodbye, Arthur! Love you! _

"I love you too, poppet!"

Oh, if only those words were directed to Alfred instead. 

The door closed slowly after Arthur dismissed himself. Once the blonde disappeared, Alfred's heart finally managed to calm down. 

He couldn't help it. Arthur Kirkland  _ drove him crazy _ . The man had hair dipped in gold and eyes that rivaled the most expensive emeralds out there. It took Alfred everything in his willpower to  _ not _ daze and stare into those gorgeous jewels for far too long. Oh, and did he mention that Arthur had freckles?  _ Freckles _ . God, freckles made Alfred swoon. The moment Alfred first laid eyes on Arthur, the American had fallen hard.  _ Really hard. _ It didn't take him awhile to realize how much he's got it bad for the pretty Brit.

Alfred didn't know he was sighing and staring at the door with a dumbstruck and dreamy look until Charlie let out a whiny squawk.

x

It was day two of being with the parrot, and knowing Arthur, Alfred knew how worried the latter would be over his pet. So he sends him pictures of Charlie everyday to constantly reassure him that Charlie was alright and was not causing Alfred any trouble at all.

As Alfred blankly stare at Arthur's last message, a simple 'thank you' with a short, heartwarming message, the American frowned at his thoughts. 

He was in love with Arthur Kirkland. Yes. As if he hadn't made it obvious yet.

It was love at first sight - even if that sounded cheesy, it was true! 

Alfred had been taking a morning jog one day. Nevertheless, when he reached a park, he never expected to be attacked by a parrot out of nowhere. It was quick at least, the parrot had only nested on his blonde hair for a few seconds before flying away, leaving Alfred confused. Just before he could jog away and forget the random encounter, someone was running behind him, shouting a string of apologies.

When the American turned around, he swore he had felt the entire world stop around him. Alfred clearly remembers the day he first met Arthur, which was the day where Alfred realized he was in love. From there, Alfred learns that Arthur goes to the same university as him and, get this, he also lived in the same apartment building! How could Alfred not know of the cute blonde literally living just a floor under Alfred?!

They've met almost a year ago, and you're probably wondering  _ why  _ the hell won't Alfred confess already? It's because he was scared. Yes. The self-proclaimed hero was scared. In his defense, anyone would be. Who wouldn't be scared by the act of rejection? It had taken Alfred  _ months  _ to build a close friendship with Arthur, and he was afraid that that friendship would dissipate if Alfred were to confess. 

The American had already accepted the fact that he and Arthur can only ever be friends at this point. The latter never showed any signs of attraction towards Alfred, which actually made the American kind of depressed. Realizing that he'd never get the chance to court Arthur hurt him. It hurt him even more knowing that he sees the green-eyed blonde everyday, who was totally unaware of Alfred's feelings. 

He thought he'd slowly get over his crush… but somehow, his feelings only multiplied! Everything inside Alfred ordered him to confess; his heart screamed for Arthur, but with his pride and friendship in the line, Alfred could not risk it at all.

Which left him desperate.

So desperate he secretly takes pictures of Arthur to satisfy his unrequited love. At least with pictures, Alfred could stare at them for hours without getting caught.

Like right now. He was scrolling through his gallery, admiring the secret stash of photos that featured the green-eyed blonde. It was low of him to do this, and so very creepy, but it was the only way! He was a man that fell head over heels for someone out of his league. Alfred's really got it bad. If somehow Arthur were to return his feelings, it would make him the happiest man in the world.

"Oh, Arthur…" Alfred sighs, his thumb swiping across the screen to go from one picture to the next. He mentally cried at the realization that he'd  _ never _ get the chance to date this wonderful, cute, gorgeous blonde. Whoever Arthur's partner may be in the future, they were one lucky bastard.

Alfred had been so focused with his admiring that he did not notice Charlie on his shoulder. 

_ Arthur? _ He chirped happily as he sees his owner on Alfred's phone. Even though he knew that it wasn't actually Arthur, Charlie was happy to see him. 

The American heard the croon behind him. "Hey, Charlie," he greeted, dejected. Seeing the African Grey reminded of how Arthur loved the parrot with a great passion. "I envy you, Charlie," Alfred moped, turning his phone off before tossing it to the side, making Charlie croon sadly at the loss of his owner's face. "I wish Arthur would love me as much as he loves you."

While the blue-eyed blonde continue to whine, Charlie only cocked his head from side to side, interested at what he was hearing.

"Damn you, Arthur!" Alfred cried, slamming his face against his pillows. "Wait! I take it back! I love you! God… why do I love you? Why do I have to be such a coward? How do you do it, Charlie? How did you get Arthur to love you? Tell me!"

The parrot could have ignored Alfred's childish whines, but he stuck by his side the entire time.

x

The two days have passed by within a blink of an eye, and Arthur was already outside the door, knocking.

Alfred hadn't even opened the door completely but Charlie had flown out already, launching onto Arthur's shoulder before pecking the man's cheek softly.

_ Arthur, Arthur! I missed you! _

"I missed you too, poppet," Arthur giggled. Oh, god, that  _ laugh _ . "I hope he didn't cause too much trouble for you."

"Not at all!" Alfred assured, ignoring his fast-paced heartbeats. "He was an angel the entire time."

"Was he?" Arthur inquired, chuckling even more as Charlie nuzzle his hair. "Is there anything I could do to repay you, Alfred?"

Alfred thought of saying 'a date with me would be good', but he bit his tongue. "Nope! Free of charge! Whenever you need someone to watch Charlie, you can always go to me."

Arthur smiled sweetly, unaware of how much a simple smile was affecting the tall American in front of him. He turned back to Charlie, "Any new words you learned this weekend, poppet?"

_ Yes! Yes, I did! _

"Oh, really? What are they?"

_ Alfred loves Arthur! _

Arthur gasped, not in shock from the confession, but of Alfred fainting.


End file.
